The Swallow and The Winter
by Canary789
Summary: Lu Xun came to Wei to help a poor little girl whose father dead on war. Impressed by the sword dance of the Strategist of Wu, Cao Pi continued to visit Lu Xun at the village. Since Lu Xun don't know about Cao Pi's true identity too, he began to fell in love with him too. Will their secret love story continue as their identity revealed?
1. Chapter 1 : The Swallow of Wu

**Author's note:**

The story took the Dynasty Warriors 7, the best Dynasty Warriors sery that I have played, I think :P. Anyway, the original story and the characters belongs to KOEI TECMO. I just made the fanfiction story. Enjoy! :D

**Chapter 1 – The Wounded Swallow of Wu**

As the winter came, the snow were scattered around the floor. It was cold, every creature hided at their nest to protect themselves from the wind. It seems that every birds have migrated to the warmer area to protect themselves too.

Even the weather was really bad; Lu Xun, the young strategist of Wu, still sat on the Pagoda in the palace's yard, watching the wide sky. Lu Meng, Lu Xun's mentor, was really surprised as he saw his student sat on such bad weather. Quickly he came to Lu Xun as he bought a mantle.

" What's wrong with you, Lu Xun? Why a brilliant strategist who had won the battle still has such unhappy face?" Lu Meng asked as he passed the mantle to Lu Xun.

" Master Lu Meng…? What are you doing here? The wind is really cold, it's not good for your health…" Lu Xun was surprised.

" I was the one who want to ask you the same question. What's wrong with you? Why do you always look sad after you won the battle with Wei last time?"

Lu Xun shook his head, " I…. I…. mmmm…"

" What's wrong? What happened back then?"

Lu Xun lower his face, " Master Lu Meng… can I ask a favor?"

" What is it?"

" Can I have a holiday for a month? I think… I need some rest… "

Lu Meng nodded. " That's ok…" Lu Meng put his arm on Lu Xun's shoulder, "Where do you want to go?"

" Actually I…" Lu Xun paused as he saw a little swallow lied on the snowy floor. Quickly he took the poor little bird on his arms. " A swallow? On this weather…?"

" Maybe it just got lost from his companies who had migrated to the tropical area… Poor little bird…" Lu Meng sighed.

" Poor little fellow…" Lu Xun cupped the little bird with his hands, " I will try to warm its body with my hands…"

Lu Meng smiled," Ok, let's see whether it will succeed or not.."

As Lu Xun held the bird, the bird regained its consciousness and flew around Lu Xun. " It works!" Lu Xun shouted happily as the swallow flew around him.

" It seems that it try to say thank you," Lu Meng praised. " Hey, the swallow flies away again… I hope it can regroup with its companies…"

Lu Xun faced Lu Meng, " Master Lu Meng… Actually that was a place I want to visit. I still can't tell you about the place for some reason… But I promised, I will be back. Please… can I have just one month…?"

Lu Meng silent for a while. " Ok, if that is what you wish. Since you have helped us a lot for the last battle, I will allow it. However, please remember your promise…" Lu Meng stared Lu Xun deeply.

" Thank you so much, Master…" Lu Xun smiled.


	2. Chapter 2 : The Winter of Wei

**Chapter 2 – The Winter of Wei**

The winter on Wei is rather different from the winter in the other countries. It was much colder than the other, maybe because it is located on the north region of China. The other possible reason is maybe because most of the Wei's people used ice elements on their weapon.

Cao Pi, the young prince of Wei, looked outside the window. He just wanted to ignore all the assignment Sima Yi gave to him. Most of them were about the government, and the rest of them were about his study. Cao Pi growled, " Assigments all the day…."

" MY LORRDD! " Xiaohe Yuan broke the door and entered Cao Pi's room. " Look what I found outside!"

Cao Pi gave Yuan cold stare, " Yuan, how many times I have told you to knock the door before entering my room… And now you broke my door… What a mess…" Cao Pi sighed.

" My lord, look what I found!" Yuan opened his hand happily," A little bird!"

Cao Pi looked at the little bird on Yuan's arm, " A swallow…? It's already winter, isn't it? What a stupid bird…"

" Yeah! Maybe I can make a great soup with it!" Yuan smiled widely.

" WAIT!" Cao Pi took the poor little bird that already scared. Maybe it can understand what Yuan said. " People said that a swallow could bring us luck. How can you eat this little bird? Hey, its wing is broken… I think I can took care of it until it recovered…"

" Oh, how sweet of you, my lord," Yuan smiled more widely.

Cao Pi blushed, " Stop it… I just don't want to have a bad luck because you eat the good luck symbol…"

" Lord Cao Pi…" Xiaohe Dun called.

" WOA! Dun!" Cao Pi was surprised," Why don't you knock the door before you enter my room? You make me surprised!"

Dun kept silent for a while. " Because the door has already gone…?"

Cao Pi stared at the door frame, " Oh yeah… I forgot…"

Xiaohe Dun cleared his throat, " Well, I just bring some assignment that Lord Cao Cao asked me to passed. Here they are…" Xiaohe Dun put some scrolls and books on Cao Pi's desk which already full of paper and books.

" Please… no more…" Cao Pi sighed.

" Sorry, but Lord Cao Cao seems really put high expectation on you…" Dun answered. " And it seems that you still have so many assignment that you haven't done yet…"

" Please, Dun, don't make me became more down… "

" You looked pale too. Maybe going outside your room will refresh your mind and health…" Yuan said.

" Going outside? Where? To meet the ministers? To have a meeting again? I'm tired of all those things. They just give me fake smile, fake kindness, and all fake attitude. I'm sick of them!" Cao Pi sighed again.

Yuan and Dun stared each other. They wanted to cheer up their young lord, but they don't know what to say.

" By the way, what a lovely bird you have on your arm…" Dun began the conversation.

" This swallow?" Cao Pi asked.

Dun nodded. " Yes, my lord. It said that it came from the land of Wu…"

" You can understand the bird's language?" Yuan asked.

Dun nodded. " Well, it said as the gratitude of the young lord's help, it wanted to give us a useful information. It said that there was a great sword performance on the village every evening. The sword dancer was really beautiful, everyone on the village talking it."

" You really understand bird's language huh?" Cao Pi stared, as he didn't believe.

" Well, that's all the bird want to say. Now, just finish your assignment that Sima Yi gave to you one week ago…" Dun took some books from the table.

" Yeah…" Cao Pi did his assignment again. " A beautiful sword dancer… How I want to see her…"

Dun looked at Cao Pi," Well, I will ask Lord Cao Cao to let you have a holiday tomorrow, since you have done a lot of work. I think my lord will understand if I told him about your condition…"

" Really? Can I visit the village tomorrow?" Cao Pi asked.

" Only if you can finish the assignment that Sima Yi gave you last week…" Dun answered.

" Thank you so much, Dun. I know I can trust you…" Cao Pi smiled at Dun.

" Then I will accompany lord Cao Pi at the village tomorrow." Yuan said happily.

" OK! I have to finish all of this assignment this night!" Cao Pi smiled widely. Dun and Yuan seemed happy since the young lord has regained some spirit again. " Oh yeah, Dun, can you cure this little bird? It injured its wings, so it can't fly for a while."

" Sure." Dun nodded.

" I will help!" Yuan said happily.

" Please don't let him… He will just eat the bird instead of healing the bird…"

Dun laughed as he heard what Cao Pi said.

" A beautiful sword dancer… How I want to see her tomorrow…" Cao Pi stared at the sky outside the window.


	3. Chapter 3 : The Dancing Swallow

**Chapter 3 – Dancing Swallow of the village**

Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan sat beside the window as they watch the snow falling from the sky. Xiahou Dun took care of the little swallow, and Xiahou Yuan ate his breakfast.

" Do you think Cao Pi can finish his assignment today? It seems he hasn't sleep tonight…" Yuan said as he ate his first meatbun.

" I bet he can do it. If it's about pretty ladies, he would do everything. That's why he seemed so enthusiastic yesterday…" Dun said. " By the way, this pretty swallow needed something to eat. May I have a piece of your bun, Yuan?"

" Sure!" Yuan passed a bun to Dun.

KNOCK! KNOCK! Yuan and Dun stared the door, " Come in!"

" Dun, Yuan, I have done all the assignment you have gave to me!" Cao Pi said proudly as he passed some books into the table.

" Wow, nice job, my lord!" Dun bowed his head.

" So, let's go to the village! Now!" Cao Pi said enthusiastic.

" Are you really ok to go with such condition? You haven't sleep last night, aren't you?" Dun asked.

" Oh, come on. I'm the great Cao Pi, nothing can stop me! Yuan, let's go now!"

" Wait a second!" Dun walked to Cao Pi and passed some clothes, " You better change your clothes into this villager's clothes. You are the next emperor, I'm still worry about your safety."

" Don't worry, Dun. I will take care of him!" Yuan said.

" Yeah, you're right. However please be careful, my lord. And please don't go too far. Just watch the performance and go home as soon as possible, okay?" Dun said.

" Okay, okay, I got it. So let's go, Yuan!" Cao Pi pulled Yuan's arm as he went as soon as possible. He can't wait to meet the beautiful sword dancer.

The Village of Hope located not too far away from the castle. The village was really calm, and lively. There are so many markets and shops that sold many unique items that Cao Pi haven't seen in his castle. As Cao Pi curious about those items, Yuan pulled him. As we know, the first destination is the restaurant. Yuan ran happily as he entered the restaurant. " I want a special set for 4 people! Please!"

" Calm down, Yuan, we don't come here to eat!"

" But eating is part of your vacation, sir!" Yuan said happily, " Come on, you have to enjoy this day!"

Cao Pi smiled." Okay…"

A cute maid with 2 hairbuns on her head came to their table, " Okay, sir Yuan, please enjoy the tea as you wait for the food. By the way, I haven't seen your friend before. Who is he?"

" He is my lo…." Cao Pi quickly closed Yuan's mouth his hand.

" I am a scholar from the other cities. I came to enjoy the famous performance from the beautiful sword dancer. Do you mind telling me where those performance is, beautiful lady?" Cao Pi smiled to the maid.

The maid blushed as she saw Cao Pi's killing smile, " Oh my, the performance of sword dancer huh? It's near this restaurant. Just walk along the road, and you will find them at the end of this road. I know about the performance, but beautiful…? All that I know is the sword dancer is a young man."

" What?" Cao Pi's eyes grew widen.

" Yeah, he's a young man. He's quiet cute, everyone on the village adore him. He came to this village a week ago, but he's already famous. He lived with Xiao Hua, a 7 years old girl who lost his father on the last war"

Cao Pi looked disappoints. " So…the sword dancer is a man…"

Yuan put his arm on Cao Pi's shoulder. " Come on, cheer up! Even he's a boy, you have to watch the performance. Remember, you have sacrifice your sleeping time in order to enjoy this day!"

" You're right…" Cao Pi sighed disappointed.

As they finished their meal, they left the restaurant. Cao Pi walked to the performance stage lazily.

" Come on, cheer up, my lord!" It seemed that Yuan's word couldn't be heard by Pi. " I wonder how can I make him cheer up again… Ah, maybe if I give him some meatbuns, he would be happy!" Yuan separated with Cao Pi as he walked to the kiosk.

As Pi walked, he just realized some people gathering around the stages. Pi could hear music played from the stage. Pi peeked around those crowded man. He couldn't believe what he saw. He saw a young man with swallow's tail on his clothes, dancing very beautifully. His graceful movements make him looked like an angel fallen from the sky. His swordplay, were very quick but gentle. Pi never saw those swordplay styles as long as he lived. The dances really caught Pi's attention. He couldn't even blink because he didn't want to lose a part of the dances.

As the performance ended, the dancer, Lu Xun, bowed his head to the audiences. The audiences give him some applause. A little girl, Xiao Hua, the assistant that played the music, came to the crowd to accept some tips from the audience. Pi also wanted to give her some money. But as he reached his pocket, he just realized that his wallet was already gone. " My Wallet!" Pi shouted as everyone stared at him. As he shouted, he could feel a sword passed beside his shoulder.

" OUCH!" A man shouted behind Cao Pi because the sword wounded his hand.

" MY WALLET!" Cao Pi took back his wallet after the thief dropped it. " How dare you stole my wallet!"

" DAMN IT!" The thief ran into the crowded. Cao Pi couldn't follow him.

" Are you alright, sir? Sorry I have made you surprised…" Lu Xun came to Cao Pi.

Cao Pi stared at the golden eyes of the dancer. His brunette hair, his tanned skin. " How beautiful…" Cao Pi murmured.

" Excuse me, sir…?" Lu Xun stared at him. " AH, your hand is wounded!" Lu Xun pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and warped Pi's arm. " I'm really sorry…"

" MY LORD!" Yuan rushly came to Cao Pi, " Are you alright? I heard that your wallet has been stolen!"

Cao Pi awake from his wild imagination, " Yuan, calm down. I'm all right. This young man helped me found my wallet."

" I'm Swallow, the street performer." Lu Xun nodded, " And this little girl is Xiao Hua, my little sweet assistant."

" Swallow…?" Yuan stared at Lu Xun, " I think I recognized you… have we meet before…?"

Lu Xun kept silent. " I don't know… I think you got a wrong person…"

Xiao Hua jumped to Yuan," What a big buddy you are!"

" Xiao Hua, please behave!" Lu Xun pulled Xiao Hua from Yuan. " Sorry for being rude…"

" Such great performances, I love it!" Cao Pi said.

" My pleasure. By the way, that man called you 'My Lord'. Are you a noble…?" Lu Xun asked.

Pi gave Yuan a cold stared," Well…," Pi silent for a while, " Actually I'm a scholar from the neighbor city. I visited this village to study about the culture. This man is my servant. My father asked him to take care of me," Cao Pi lied. " Oh yeah, just call me Winter."

" Oh, I see. It's nice to meet you, Winter. Sorry about what I have done before…" Lu Xun bowed again.

" I should be the one who thank you, you save my wallet!" Cao Pi put his arm on Xun's shoulder. " When will you perform your dances again? I want to see your dance again…"

" Oh, it's every evening, sir." Lu Xun answered, " It's the only way to help Xiao Hua to earn some money."

" Why don't you become the castle's performer? You can dance well, I think the emperor will pleased with your dance and he will give you a lot of money."

" I… I can't… My performance isn't good enough for the emperor, I think. And also… I don't know how long I can live in this village…"

" What do you mean…?"

Lu Xun shook his head, " Nothing… By the way, I think it's already dark. I want to go home now."

" WAIT!" Cao Pi gave him some money from his wallet.

" But sir, it's too much! I can't accept such big amount of money!"

" But you already save me. And I really impressed by your dance. Please accept it!" Cao Pi put back the money into Lu Xun's hand.

" But…" Lu Xun still resisted.

" Big brother, I'm hungry…" Xiao Hua pulled Lu Xun's arm.

" How about eating dinner with us?" Cao Pi asked.

" Thank you, but I think we will have dinner in our house. Excuse us…"

Yuan put his arm on Cao Pi's shoulder. " Being rejected, huh?" Yuan just realized that Cao Pi's cheek is already red. " My Lord… Are you okay…?"

Cao Pi sighed. " Let's go home now. Dun will angry at us if he found us not home when the sun is already set…" Cao Pi left Xiahou Yuan.

" My lord… are you…. Falling in love…?" Yuan thought, " Oh it's impossible. Lu Xun is a boy, and Xiao Hua is still 7 years old…. Maybe that was just my imagination…"


	4. Chapter 4 : The Winter's Strife

**Author's note:**

I just realize that I made so many mistakes. The right spelling for Xiaohe Yuan and Xiaohe Dun should be with Xiahou. From this chapter, I will type their name with the right spelling. Sorry for my mistype before^^. Enjoy!

**Chapter 4 – The Winter's Strife **

It was already late when Cao Pi and Xiahou Yuan reached the castle. Xiahou Dun was already waiting on the castle gate with his fierce face.

" Sorry for being late…" Yuan said.

Dun was just nodded. " By the way, my lord, your face looks red… Are you okay? Did you catch a cold?"

Cao Pi shook his head, " It's nothing… by the way, Dun, I want to visit the village again tomorrow"

" WHAT?" Yuan shouted, " But how about your work?"

" I will do it this night."

Dun kept silent for a while. " I'm afraid I can't allow that. Maybe it's fine with me, but I don't know wether Lord Cao Cao allow you to visit the village or not… Since you still have so many unhandled tasks…"

" Oh…" Cao Pi sighed disappoint, " I see…"

" Young lord, I think you better take a rest for now. You haven't sleep last night, and for this week, you only slept for 4 hours a day…" Yuan said.

" Okay okay," Cao Pi just passed Dun and walked into his room.

" What's wrong with him? He acted so strange…" Dun asked Yuan.

" Well…" Yuan explained what happened when they visited the village.

It was such heavy snow in the night. However, Dun can saw light came from the window of Cao Pi's room. Dun wondered what the young lord doing in such night. From the silhouette, it's seems that Cao Pi was still doing the assignment.

Dun smiled as he saw the young lord's passion. " Maybe I will ask Lord Cao Cao to give him a permission to visit the village tomorrow." And he headed back to his room to sleep.

Finally the snow stopped at the morning. Xiahou Dun opened the window and looked into the sky, " What a lovely morning!"

Suddenly Dun heard a knock from the door. " Dun, I have finished the tasks that Sima Yi gave to me… Now I can visit the village again, can't I?"

Dun took some books and scrolls from Cao Pi's hand, " Nice work! My Lord must be proud of you if he knew that you have done all of this just in one night!"

Sima Yi entered the room, " Wow, you did all the assignments that I have given to you. I really appreciate it."

" Sima Yi?"

" But unfortunately you have done so many mistakes here…" Sima Yi pointed the scroll," And here…and here…"

" But…" Cao Pi grumbled, " Okay, I will revised them…"

" And I can't allow you to visit the village too. You know, it really dangerous there!" Sima Yi added.

" Yuan will accompany me, so it's no problem." Pi stared at Sima Yi.

" I'm sorry, young lord, but Yuan and I have a meeting today, so unfortunately we can't accompany you." Dun bowed his head to Pi.

" Fine, I can go there alone!" Cao Pi murmured.

" No, you can't, my lord. Even your skill was very good; I still cannot let you go to the village. Remember, you are the next emperor. If something bad happened to you, Wei would face many problems. " Sima Yi added as he swung his black feather fan.

" Okay, okay, I got it! Now just leave me alone, I can't concentrate if you kept mumbling such boring things like that!"

" Boring things? How could you…" Sima Yi's eyes grew widen, but Xiahou Dun pulled Sima Yi away from the young lord.

" Just leave him alone, you will just distract his concentration. I think he is mature enough to think about his condition…" Dun said as he pulled Sima Yi to the door.

" And now you sided with him, Dun?"

" I'm just telling you what I think, sir. I believe that the Young Lord is mature enough to make his own decision!"

" Fine, just said what you believe, but I will believe what I think is right!" Sima Yi hissed, " Dun, I want you to watch over the young lord. Don't ever let him leave his room!"

" Leave it to me, sir. I will watch after him."

Meanwhile, Cao Pi still looked at the part that Sima Yi pointed at his scroll. " I have counted it many times, but I still got the same answered…" his forehead began to wrinkle, " And about those things that he pointed out, all of them were already correct too, I think…"

Cao Pi looked through the window," I think the castle is rather quiet now since the generals will have a meeting today…"

" And you want to run away, right?" Dun added.

" Dun? When did you enter the room?"

" Not long ago. I want to serve your lunch…"

Cao Pi kept silent. " Well, Dun… I think Sima Yi just looking for my mistakes. Look, I have checked all the part that he pointed, but I still can't find my mistakes…"

" As I thought…" Dun said as he serve the tea and over it to Cao Pi. " And you still want to go the village to visit your swallow-sword-dancer, do you?"

Cao Pi bowed because Dun has known what he thought.

Dun sipped his tea," I will help you."

" Really? But I heard that you promised Sima Yi that you won't allow me to go out from my room!"

" Well, I just said that to pleased him. I believe young lord have done his assignment well. And I think it's good for you to exercise your body, by visiting that Swallow…"

" Thank you, Dun." Cao Pi smiled, " I know I can trust you…"

" However, my lord, since I and Yuan will have the meeting today, I want you to be very careful at the village of Hope. And also, please go back to this place before the meeting ended!"

" I got it!" Cao Pi nodded.

" Okay then, just change your clothes into this soldier clothes. And you have to keep this villager's clothes in your bag. I will tell the guard that I want you to deliver my letter to the villager."

" You surely have a lot of costumes, huh?" Cao Pi looked at the soldier's uniform in his hand.

Dun smiled, " Well, I and Yuan were very naughty when we were young. We have deceived our father many times back then…"

Cao Pi laughed as he heard those stupid things from the general that he admired since he was young.


	5. Chapter 5 : Call of the Swallow

**Chapter 5- The Call of the Swallow**

Winter in Wei was really cold. Even Lu Xun has used thick mantle, he can still felt the cold of the forest. It was snowing too. He called for his swallow, but still he couldn't find it. As he felt so tired, he sat under a tree. He remembered about his promise on Wu's castle.

**FLASHBACK**

" Do you really want to go to the land of Wei? Are you serious? We just won the battle with them, and now you want to go there?" Gan Ning asked Lu Xun.

" Calm down, Gan Ning, or else Master Lu Meng will hear our conversation." Lu Xun said. " I can't let him know that I'm going to the land of Wei."

" But, you know, Old man asked me to accompany you while you're having your vacation. So it's my responsibilities to protect you."

" Listen Gan Ning, I couldn't let you accompany me there because you already famous as the general who defeat some of Wei's general. It would be very dangerous for you. And I think it would be better for me to go there alone, because I was the only one who should be responsible with this case…"

" But Lu Xun…," Gan Ning sighed, " It's still my responsibility to protect you. I'm afraid something bad will happen to you there. It's still our enemy's territory, you know…"

" Mmm…" Suddenly the swallow that Lu Xun have saved before came and landed on Lu Xun's shoulder. " You…? Why haven't you joined your friends?"

" You talked to the swallow?" Gan Ning asked, surprised by Lu Xun's behavior.

" Actually, sometimes I understand what the animal's talking about. I don't know why…" Lu Xun explained, " Hey, nice idea, little bird!"

" What idea?" Gan Ning asked.

" Here is my strategy. I will go to Wei alone, but I will send you a letter everyday to let you know about my condition. How's that?" Lu Xun smiled.

" Who would send your letter? The procedures will be really complicated to send a letter there, and also it would take much time. Can you imagine what would happen if you send me a danger signal, but I received them lately?"

" Well, this little bird will be our messenger. I would give a ring to this little bird's feet, so you can identify this little bird more easily." Lu Xun showed Gan Ning his ring that he gave to the swallow.

" And… how do I know that you are in a danger situation?" Gan Ning asked.

" Okay, if in 3 days, you haven't received any message from me, that's means I was in danger. Clear enough, huh?" Lu Xun smiled happily.

"…" Gan Ning kept in silence.

" Come on, Gan Ning. You're the only general that I can believe right now. I still remember how happy I am when you believe my strategy at the first time I joined the battle…" Lu Xun pleaded.

" Fine!" Gan Ning stroked Lu Xun's hair, " I know it's sound really weird. However, I will come to your place if I haven't received any message from you for 3 days. Now, could you tell me what place you want to go in Wei?"

Lu Xun smiled, " Here it is…" Lu Xun pointed the Village of Hope.

**END OF FLASHBACK**

Lu Xun blow his frozen hand, " It has been 2 days, but Gan Ning still haven't received my letter yet. Where is the swallow? I have to find her as soon as possible, or else Gan Ning will look for me in Wei…"

As Lu Xun stood, he heard a scream from the forest. Without thinking, he just followed the voice. He was really surprised when he found a familiar man.

" Damn it! Stupid horse!" the man yelled at his horse which stepped on a trap and fell."

" Are you… Winter…?" Lu Xun asked as he walked toward them.

" Swallow?" Cao Pi looked at Swallow, " Thank goodness you are here!"

" Are you okay? Let me see your leg…" Lu Xun bowed, " It wounded, but not really serious." Lu Xun tear his clothes and bended Co Pi's leg. " It will help to stop your bleeding."

" Thanks a lot, Swallow…"

" You're welcome, Winter. By the way, I will help your horse," Lu Xun ran to the horse. He carefully released the trap from the horse from the trap and tied the wound. " It seems that his wound was not really bad, but you can't ride him until his wound recovered. I will tie him to my horse, so it can follow my horse. I will cure him later at the house."

" Wow, the horse really wanted to listen to you. You know, it didn't want to listen to me. It really hard to control him!"

Lu Xun smiled, " This horse is very nice. I think it didn't want to listen to you because you just didn't know how to approach him."

"What do you mean?"

" The horse said that he only want his general to ride him. If it's not the general that he knew, he wouldn't listen to him," Lu Xun chuckled.

" You mean, you can speak to the horse?" Cao Pi asked.

" You can say that…" Lu Xun smiled at Cao Pi. " By the way, what are you doing in such bad weather like this? It really dangerous to go to the forest alone like this…"

" Oh, I… I just found and tried the animal path, but I didn't know that it was narrow, slippery, and has a trap like this…"

Lu Xun laughed, " You shouldn't use the animal path on the winter because it has many traps and it's harder to recognize the traps since it was buried under the snow."

" You're right." Cao Pi smiled, " By the way, what are you doing on this forest in this bad weather like this?"

" I was looking for my pet."

" Your pet?"

" Yes." Lu Xun nodded, " It's a swallow. It hasn't came back for 2 days, and it made me worried..."

Cao Pi just remembered about the swallow that he found on the castle," You mean… a swallow with a red ring on its feet?"

" How do you know?"

" I found it on the castle." Cao Pi answered straightly.

" How is it now? Is it hurt?"

" It's fine, it was taken care by my friend. it broke its wings, so it can't went back to you."

" Thank goodness that it's okay…" Lu Xun stroked his chest," Where is it now? Has it recovered?"

" It's on the castle."

" The castle…?" Lu Xun frowned.

" Oh, yeah, I have a friend that worked in the castle. He's a general with great fighting skill. He also has good heart and strong will. And, maybe it's hard to believe, he also can speak to the animal, just like you."

" Your friend is a general?" Lu Xun's eye grew widen.

" Yes, he is. His name is Xiahou Dun What's wrong? Why do you look pale?" Cao Pi wanted to help Lu Xun, but since his leg was wounded, he couldn't stand.

Xun came to Cao Pi to help him stand by offering him his hand, " Oh, I just surprised, haha. So you just came from the castle to visit your friend, huh?"

Cao Pi nodded. He took Lu Xun's hand, " Your hand is very cold. How long have you been in this forest?" Cao Pi tried to warm Lu Xun's hands by blowing them.

Lu Xun blushed as he felt Cao Pi's warm breath on his hand, " It's about 3 hours, I think…" Lu Xun turned his head.

" Don't worry; you can trust your little pet on my friend's hand. He is an expert in healing the animals. I have known him since I was young." Cao Pi tried to stand. " Don't worry about your pet, I bet it will be recovered tomorrow."

Lu Xun nodded," Yeah, you're right…" Lu Xun thought what he should do to send Gan Ning his message. " Oh my, I forgot about the time. I have to go to Xiao Hua's place as soon as possible!" Lu Xun rode to his own horse and helped Cao Pi to ride behind him. He rode his horse as quickly as he can.

Finally they reached an old house between the village and the forest. It was Xiao Hua's house. Even it's old, it seems really peaceful and comfortable. There was a big willow tree beside the house. There was a black-haired girl with 2 hair braidts on his head and a boy playing under the big tree. They made a very big snowman.

" Xiao Hua!" Lu Xun shouted.

"Ah, Big Brother!" Xiao Hua ran toward them, " And Mr. Winter too, nice to meet you again. Where's your big buddy, I want to play with him!"

Lu Xun stepped down from his horse, " I told you to stay on the house as long as I bought your medicine. The winter's cold will make your condition worse!"

" It's okay, Big Brother! It's boring to stay on the house alone. Lung also asked me to made a big snowman with him, so I just joined him!"

" I really worried about your condition, you know!" Lu Xun shouted.

" Sorry, big brother…" Xiao Hua began to cry.

Cao Pi put his hand on Lu Xun's shoulder," It's okay for a child like her to play with her friend. She's a kid after all…"

" Maybe you're right… I'm sorry, Xiao Hua…" Lu Xun padded Xiao Hua's head.

" What a magnificent snowman you made. Who are you going to make, Xiao Hua?" Cao Pi touched the snowman.

" I want to make the young prince!" a boy with a ponytail answered proudly. " Everyone on the village was talking about him. My father said that he was really handsome, diligent, and very skillful."

Cao Pi smiled proudly as he heard what the young boy said.

" Wow, amazing. You make me want to see how the prince looks like," Lu Xun smiled.

" But it's hard to meet him, sir." The boy added, " He really busy with his tasks, so he never came out from the castle."

" What a pity… by the way, Mr. Winter, you said that you just visited your friend at the castle. Have you ever seen the young prince?"

" Yes, I have. All the boy said was right!" Cao Pi said proudly." However, sometimes the prince visits the village. The prince really loves this village. He like your sword performance, too, Swallow."

" He watched me? Oh, what a pleasure of mine. It's a pity that I didn't recognize him. Someday, if he wanted to watch my performance again, please tell me, Mr. Winter. I will do my best for him!"

" No problem!" Cao Pi nodded. He smiled because Lu Xun didn't know his true identity.

" Okay, Xiao Hua, I bought you some foods. Please warm these foods and make some tea for me and Mr. Winter." Lu Xun passed the bag to Xiao Hua.

" Okay, Big brother!" Xiao Hua waved her hand to Lung, "Thank you for playing with me! See you later, Lung!"

Lung smiled and waved his hand too, " See you next time, my love!"

" Love, huh? In such young ages…" Cao Pi laughed.

" Well, kids were always kids." Lu Xun laughed too.

" Hey, it's already evening. Don't you have a performance today?" Cao Pi asked.

" I… I can't…" Lu Xun's face became serious, " Xiao Hua's condition became worse. I didn't know about her condition, so I let her play the music for the performance last time. She collapsed yesterday… and she vomited blood too. The doctor said that if she didn't get a proper medication as soon as possible, she could die. But the medicine was really expensive. I can't afford them…"

" Oh, I'm sorry… But where's your parents?"

" Xiao Hua is not my real sister. I just took care of her. " Lu Xun looked away, "Her mother has died when she was a baby. Her father… he was killed on the war…"

" She's not your sister? Then why do you take care of her?"

" Her father is the great general of Wei, and someday, he protected me from the avalanche when I was on the land of Wu…" Lu Xun remembered the time when he entered the war. With his strategy, he can captured the old general of Wei. However the old general plead Lu Xun to spare his life because he wanted to cure his daughter's illness. Lu Xun let him go, but soon after that, there was an avalanche. The old general came to save him, but as the price, he was buried under the snow. Before he died, he asked Lu Xun to save his daughter.

Cao Pi could see Lu Xun's body was trembled. He hugged Lu Xun from behind. " I'm sorry to make you remember something terrible…"

Lu Xun blushed as he felt the young prince's warmth, " I'm sorry to make you hear my story." Lu Xun pulled away, " How is your wound? Let me give you some medicine to your legs. Xiao Hua has waited for us, too."

Cao Pi grabbed Lu Xun's hand," It's okay. I'm hungry too. Let's have some meals!"


	6. Chapter 6 : The Swallow's Kiss

**Chapter 6 – The Swallow Kiss**

Xiao Hua's house is small. It only had one bedroom, one master room, a kitchen, and a barn for the horse. The master room was small too. It only had one wooden table and a pair of old chairs. Lu Xun asked Cao Pi to take a seat and gave some medicine to Cao Pi's leg. The medicine felt so hurt on the wound, but Cao Pi didn't say anything because of his pride.

" Is your leg still hurt?" Lu Xun asked as he worried.

" It's nothing." Cao Pi said as he looked at the other side. From the expression on his face, Lu Xun knew that his leg still hurt.

" You know, I gave you the miracle medicine that was made by the famous physician from the village. In 30 minutes, you will fell much better."

" Is that any medicine like that?" Cao Pi asked coldly.

" You won't know until you try it!" Lu Xun smiled.

They stopped their conversation as they heard Xiao Hua cough from the other room. Rashly, Lu Xun came to the kitchen and asked Xiao Hua to take a rest on the bedroom. It seemed that both of them have a serious chat. Cao Pi could hear that Lu Xun seems have a finance problem. Cao Pi looked at his wallet. His money seems can help their problem.

Felt bored waiting for Lu Xun, Cao Pi looked at the twin swords on the table, the twin swords that Lu Xun used when he did his performance. He looked at the symbols that craved at the blades. Each has a tiger and a pair of wings on the handle. He never saw any symbol like that in Wei, especially the tiger symbol. Wei people never use any tiger on their utility. The Wei people usually use the phoenix symbols on their weapon.

" Sorry to make you wait… I have finished the lunch, let's eat together!" Lu Xun came back with some tea and warm soup. Lu Xun was surprised as he saw Cao Pi held his swords. He was afraid that Cao Pi would know about his identity. Cao Pi is a scholar after all, as long as he knew.

" My Sword!" Lu Xun ran toward Cao Pi to take the sword.

Surprised by Lu Xun's move, Cao Pi moved the swords to his back by reflect. It made Lu Xun bumped into Cao Pi and kissed him by accident. Both of them fell from the chair.

Lu Xun was very panic. Lu Xun pulled his head as he regained his consciousness. " I'm sorry… I didn't mean to… sorry…" His face became as red as the tomato.

Cao Pi stared at Lu Xun. Well, Cao Pi has to admit that last night he had a dirty dream about him and Lu Xun spending the night together. However, he still didn't believe that he could kiss his crush just the day after that dream. He held Lu Xun's head and made Lu Xun stared at him. He stunned by Lu Xun's golden eyes, his brunette hair, and his beautiful face. Even Zhen Ji couldn't match his beauty.

" Winter…?" Lu Xun confused, " Are you okay…?"

Cao Pi didn't give any answer. He pulled Lu Xun head closer to his face.

Lu Xun blushed as he felt Cao Pi's breath near his face. His eyes grew widen as Cao Pi pulled his head closer. " Winter…?"

Suddenly Xiao Hua came out from her room. " Big brother, is the lunch ready?"

Lu Xun jumped from Cao Pi's body, " AH! Xiao hua…"

" What are you doing? Why do your face flush?" Xiao Hua asked.

" It's nothing! Really!"

" Oh, then, can we eat the lunch now?"

" Oh right! Let's eat!" Lu Xun helped Cao Pi sat on the chair and they enjoyed their lunch together.

" The food taste really great! By the way, why do both of you keep silent? Do you have a fight?" Xiao Hua asked.

" It' not like that… well…" Lu Xun glanced at Cao Pi," Winter, I'm sorry for what I did before… "

" …" Cao Pi smiled at Lu Xun, " Oh, it's okay…"

Lu Xun looked confuse because Cao Pi look so happy. He decided to ignore it and resumed eating his lunch.

" Big brother! Let's have the show now!" Xiao Hua said.

" NO! I won't allow that! You just take a rest now!"

" But, brother, you just said that we were lack of money. How can we receive any money if we don't have any show?"

" Well…" Lu Xun tried to find any answer that can make Xiao Hua take a rest, but he couldn't find any.

Cao Pi remembered what he wanted to do before. He took his wallet and put it to Lu Xun's hand, " Here, you can borrow my money."

" But, Winter… "

Cao Pi pulled Lu Xun closer at him and whispered, " It's a serious problem now. She has vomited blood before right? It means that the disease has become serious. If you don't give her a proper medicine, Xiao Hua's life would be in danger …"

" But… I already have a lot of debts that I can't afford to pay. I can't borrow any more money…"

" Let's talk about that later. Now, let's go to the village and buy the medicine, or else the shops will be closed soon. We better go as soon as possible."

Lu Xun bowed to Cao Pi." Thank you so much, Winter…"

" Xiao Hua, listen to me…" Lu Xun stared deeply to Xiao Hua, " I want to accompany Mr. Winter to the village for a while. I want you to wait in this house. Please, lock the door and the window, and never open the door until I came back."

" Okay… but why?" Xiao Hua asked.

" Because there are so many bad people outside. Please, do what I said…"

" Okay…" Xiao Hua nodded.

" Good girl. Now, let's head into the village, Winter. Oh yeah, how is your leg?" Lu Xun asked.

" Wow!" Cao Pi moved his leg, " It really recovered. The medicine is really a miracle!"

" Like I said!" Lu Xun smiled proudly. " Oh yeah, about your horse, since it hasn't recovered yet, do you mind using my horse together until we reach the village?"

" No problem!"

" Okay then! Let's go!"


	7. Chapter 7 : Wind of FATE

**Chapter 7 – Wind of Dilema**

Meanwhile in Wu, Gan Ning began to worried about Lu Xun's condition because he hadn't received any message from him for 2 days. Things became harder since he had to hide from Lu Meng, because Lu Meng believed that he was guarding Lu Xun as long as Lu Xun took his vacation. It felt like playing hide and seek in the castle.

" It must be hard for you to hide for a month, huh?" a guy with long ponytail passed Gan Ning from behind.

" Ling Tong, you are my savior!"

" What did make you said that?"

"Please make Lu Meng leave this room at once or I will be caught!"

"…." Ling Tong gave him a cold stare, " Just how long will you be like this? Why don't you tell Lu Meng about the truth?"

" Because Lu Xun asked me to. And I really regret that I have allowed that kid to go there now…"

" What do you mean?" Instead make a distraction for Lu Meng, Ling Tong prefer to sit beside Gan Ning who hided behind the jar.

" I haven't receive any message from him yet… and it made me worried…" Gan Ning put his hand on his head, " It has been 2 days, if tomorrow I haven't receive any message, that mean Lu Xun was in danger. I have to save him!"

" And you will ask the lord to lend you some troops then?"

" I don't know… I wonder what will happen to Lu Xun if the Lord knew where Lu Xun is now…"

" Then you want to go to Wei alone? Are you crazy? It would be very dangerous!"

" Well… I don't have any choice…" Gan Ning sighed.

" Then count me in! I will help you"

" No, no, just stay away from this case! It would only make the condition worse… you know, we joined the forces on the last war. It will be dangerous if any officer there recognize us…"

" Then what should we do…?" Ling Tong held his head.

" Ling Tong, is that you?" Lu Meng asked as he saw Ling Tong's ponytail.

" Oh, good day, Master Lu Meng!" Gan Ning pushed Ling Tong from behind.

" Good day, Ling Tong. What are you doing here?" Lu Meng asked, " I think I just heard Gan Ning voice…"

" Oh, it must be your imagination, sir!" Ling Tong put his hand on Lu Meng's shoulder and pulled him away from Gan Ning, " Perhaps you just missed him since he hasn't came back for a month…"

" You're right… I missed Lu Xun too. I hope he's alright…" Lu Meng laughed, " Well, Ling Tong, I want you to look for them as soon as possible. I have some business with them."

" What is it, sir?" Ling Tong asked.

" We just receive a letter from Shu. They wanted us to have an alliance to beat Wei. So, I want you to look for them and give my letter to them."

" Understood, sir!" Ling Tong nodded.

" Oh no… if we will have a war soon… Lu Xun would be in trouble!" Gan Ning thought," I have to find him as soon as possible!"

Meanwhile, Lu Xun and Cao Pi have arrived on the village. Lu Xun tied his horse on the tree near the inn and walked the physician's house. They decided to walk because it would be easier for them to reach the house since the paths to go there were pretty narrow and crowded.

" Swallow, about the things that you said to Xiao Hua before… are they related to the debts that you talked about before…?" Cao Pi asked.

" Such sharp mind of yours, as I expected…" Lu Xun passed Cao Pi with a smile. " When I came to Xiao Hua's house, I just found out that actually his father already left us so much debts… It seems that her father has borrowed a lot of money from the wrong person…"

" And who is that person that you mean…?"

" The debt collector of course! He collected the tax higher than standard, for his own pocket of course. He also can give the villagers loan, but the interest was really high. And what makes worse is he's hiring the bandits to take the money!"

" I never know about it…"

" You're a scholar from another country after all. I just knew those things from the physician. She was pretty and very kind. Everyone loves her."

" So… she's your girlfriend, huh?"

" Of course not. The villagers will kill me if I go out with her!" Lu Xun laughed.

" Oh, you're right… I just remember one thing that I want to ask you… Where do you come from? And about that dagger of yours… I never seen those symbols on the handle before… "

" … " Lu Xun quiet, " Let's discuss that later! We have arrived on her house, the house of the famous physician who made your medicine for your leg!" Lu Xun ran into a house in front of them. The house has blue roof with golden moon and stars symbols. The door handle has a crescent moon shape too. Lu Xun knocked the door and suddenly a brown haired beautiful lady with moon and star symbols on her hair, welcomed them.

" It's nice to see you again, Mr. Swallow…" the girl said.

" Oh, it's you! It's nice to see you too, Ms. Cai Wenji…" Cao Pi bowed to her.

" You…" the girl was surprised to see the young prince, " You are…"

Cao Pi put his fore finger on his lips, " Fear not, young lady. I'm just walking around to release some stress, that's all. Oh yeah, just call me Winter…"

" You knew each other…?" Lu Xun looked at them as he confused.

" Well, yeah!" Cai Wenji answered, " His father has helped my family a lot ever since I was young. His father was really kind. I was once kidnapped by the bandits, but then his father sent some generals to save me…"

" Save the story for later, Wenji!" Cao Pi said, " This friend of mine, Swallow, need some medicine for his little sister. Can you make it for me?"

" Actually it was rather expensive, but since you are the one who asked me to, I will do it for free. Could you mind waiting on the guest room while I am grinding the medicine?" Cai Wenji asked.

" Fine with me. How about you, Swallow?" Cao Pi asked.

" It's a pleasure! Thank you so much, Ms. Cai Wenji…"

" You're welcome!" Cai Wenji smiled, " Now I will start grinding the medicine. If you excuse me…" Cai Wenji bowed then left Cao Pi and Lu Xun on the guest room.

" Now since we just alone here… Please answer my previous question. Where do you get your blades?"

" Well… It's a memento… from my previous master…" Lu Xun paused for a while. " He is already dead… because a disease… the same disease as Xiao Hua… "

" Oh, I see…" Cao Pi nodded. " And your previous master was not from Wei…?"

Lu Xun kept silent for a while. " Is that matter to you…?"

" Well… I just curious… Because I feel like I have seen those symbols before…"

Lu Xun walked to window, " Just like a Pandora box, sometimes things are better hidden than emerges…"

Suddenly they heard knocks and someone's voice yelled for Cai Wenji from the door. Cai Wenji stopped her work and approached the door. She was surprised when she found two big ugly men with a dagger on their hand, stood in front of her house.

" What do you want? Do you need some medicine?" Cai Wenji asked them.

" We want you to pay the taxes!" the big man spoke so loudly as if he was screaming.

" Well, gentlemen, I have paid the taxes a week ago. I think you get a wrong person…" Cai Wenji said.

" Then you have to paid us more! We need the money!" the big man said as he pointed the dagger to Cai Wenji.

" Hand off the lady, pal!" Cao Pi walked toward the bandits, "A gentle man would never point a weapon to a lady…"

" The beautiful boy wants to fight to protect this young lady? Oh, I'm touched…" the big men laughed at Cao Pi.

Cao Pi was upset, but he hided his emotion with his smile, " Well, if you ask for, I wouldn't mind… "

Before Cao Pi finished his word, the big men already wielded his dagger to him. Lu Xun took the damage with his dagger " Winter, stay away from them! They're dangerous!"

" Well, they are the bandits that you're talking about before? Interesting… And their faces are as ugly as their heart…" Cao Pi mocked.

" HOW DARE YOU!" The other big bandit wanted attacked Cao Pi, but Cao Pi evaded it. Lu Xun moved to the bandit in front of Cao Pi. He gave the bandit a counterattack to his face. The attack caused a big scar on his face.

" HOW DARE YOU!" the bandit shouted as he held his face.

" Winter, RUN!" Lu Xun yelled," We have to distract them or else Ms. Cai Wenji would be hurt!"

Cao Pi held Lu Xun's hand. They ran as fast as they can to the market, so that they can hide among the people. They found a cart and they hided behind it. But instead of giving up, the bandits decided to destroy the market. They punched and kicked everything that blocked their way.

" Oh my, it become worse now…" Cao Pi said as he saw the bandit's attitude.

" Winter, please run. I will fight them…"

" No, I won't!" Cao Pi answered.

" Come on, Winter… We don't have enough time!"

Cao Pi took one of Lu Xun's blades, " We will fight them together!"

" You…can fight? But you are a scholar, right…?"

" Let's explain that later! Now, here we go!" Cao Pi ran toward the bandit.

" Hey, wait!" Lu Xun said as he ran toward Cao Pi.

The bandits were really happy when they saw their prey emerged. " So the beautiful boy wants to fight us again, huh?"

" Watch your mouth, pal!" Cao Pi threw an apple to the bandit's mouth. The apple stuck on the bandit's mouth.

Lu Xun laughed as he saw what happened, " Nice throw, Winter! You get a perfect point!"

" HOW DARE OF YOU MAKING FUN OF MY FRIEND!" The other bandit wielded the dagger on them. But both of them jumped and gave him a combination attack from the left and from the right. The combination attack made the bandit knock out.

" Nice move, Winter!" Lu Xun smiled at Cao Pi.

" Then, let's give a name for that combination attack…hm…. How about the Winter Swallow?"

" You are really poor at giving name…" Lu Xun said.

" STOP THE FIGHT AT ONCE!" Suddenly a man came with a horse. He has a very big sword and an eye-patch on his left eye. Behind him is Cai Wenji.

" Xiahou Dun!" Cao Pi shouted happily.

The bandits were panic when they saw a general from the palace. They ran as fast as they could.

" I have heard the story from this young lady!" Dun said as he stepped down from the horse. " Are everything okay?"

" I'm okay…" Cao Pi answered, " How about you, Swallow?" He just realized that Lu Xun was not near him.

" Swallow? You mean that dancer that Yuan talked about before?" Dun asked.

Cao Pi nodded. " Maybe he has gone home. Oh my, his blade is still in my hand. I have to return it to his house now!"

Dun blocked Cao Pi, " Unfortunately, I can't let you go there… Sima Yi knew that you ran away, and he was really angry…"

" He knew? Oh no…"

" I told you to go home before the meeting finished! The sun was already set, but you haven't arrived yet. I was really worried, so I looked at you at this village. Lucky for me, I found this young lady."

" It's a pleasure of mine to meet you again, my hero…" Cai Wenji smiled at Dun.

" Do we know each other?" Dun looked at Cai Wenji.

" So you forgot…? I was once being kidnapped, and you saved me. Remember…?" Cai Wenji asked.

Dun nodded," I remembered being given an assignment to save the kidnapped girl… But I didn't remember it well… Sorry for not being able to remember your name."

" It's okay…" Cai Wenji smiled, " Meeting you again has made me happy…"

Dun blushed when he heard what Cai Wenji have said, " Well then, I have to escort the young prince to the castle now. Please excuse us…"

" It's Cai Wenji, please remember it… Take care of yourself, both of you…" Cai Wenji bowed at them. She looked at them as they left her. " Finally, I found him… the hero of my childhood…"


	8. Chapter 8 : Help from Lotus

**Author's note:**

Lately I love playing Warrior Orochi 3 because the game has my favorite pairing, which is Cao Pi x Lu Xun. You can find the video of them in Youtube. They really are cute! And since Cao Pi got paired with Lu Xun now, Mitsunari Ishida, Cao Pi's partner on Warrior Orochi 1, got jealous and always angry to Lu Xun. Poor Lu Xun… he hasn't understood that Mitsunari was jealous at him. I want to make their story on Warrior Orochi 3 too. I want Cao Pi to be the incarnation of Susanoo, while Lu Xun was the incarnation of Kushinida. If you want to know about them, actually both of them was the god and goddess who slayed Orochi on the legend. Well, I have the idea but I have no time to write it down. Sometimes I will write about it.

**Chapter 8 – Help from the Lotus**

There was not a word out from Cao Pi or Xiahou Dun along the way back to the castle. Cao Pi felt guilty because he has caused some troubles to Xiahou Dun. He also thought what would happen to him when he reached the castle. He sure that Sima Yi won't allow him to go out from the castle again. And the worst case is Sima Yi would tell his father about his problem. And then, Cao Pi still held one of Swallow's precious blades, and he has promised Swallow to give back his swallow pet to Swallow. Cao Pi took a long breath as he thought about his fate.

It won't take long to reach the castle since Xiahou Dun knew about the forest path. As they reached the castle, Xiahou Dun escorted Cao Pi to his own room.

" Sorry, for causing you some troubles…and about your horse…" Cao Pi said with low voice.

" It's not a problem, sir…" Xiahou Dun said.

" Sima Yi must have waited for me in my room… I don't want to meet him…"

" Well, of course he is… I have to apologize to you, my lord, I have told Sima Yi about your secret meeting with your friend…"

" WHAT?" Cao Pi shouted.

" My apologize, young lord, I have no choice, since I was the only one who guard your room this afternoon…"

" Oh my, it's gonna be bad…."

" I'm sorry…"

Cao Pi shook his head, " It's okay… It's my fault…"

Finally they reached in front of Cao Pi's room. The door was closed, but Cao Pi can felt Sima Yi's presence from inside the room. It looked like he would get long lecture from the strategist. Cao Pi took a long breath before he entered his room. He found Sima Yi was already sitting in front of his table, wielding his black-feathered fan, with an evil smirk on his face, as always. Cao Pi closed the door and approach Sima Yi. " It's gonna be a boring night with long lecture tonight…" Cao Pi thought. But it seemed that waiting for the young lord until night made him tired, so Sima Yi postponed his lecture until tomorrow morning.

" Lucky for you, young lord, it's time to sleep now. I have some words to you, but I will postpone them until tomorrow morning. Now, if you excuse me…" Sima Yi bowed and left the room. Cao Pi felt relived. He lied on his bed and turned off the candle.

Meanwhile in the castle, after escorting the young prince, Xiahou Dun went back to his room. When he entered the room, he realized that Xiahou Yuan was sitting on his chair. He was still eating the pork leg with mushroom dish on the table.

" I told you to left me some food… I felt hungry, you know…" Dun poked Yuan's head.

" I have save yours… here, you can eat the rest of them…" Yuan arranged some plates on the table and let Dun sat.

" And you become as fat as Xu Zhu now… Someday, both of you have to take some exercises so that you will lose some weight…"

" Oh yeah, sometimes me and Xu Zhu were having a dance lesson with Zhang He. It was fun! You have to join us someday!"

Xiahou Dun laughed, " I will think about your invitation…"

" Hey… I just heard that Sima Yi was really angry because you help the young lord escape…"

" Well… He became more and more annoying over time. Lucky for him, the lord still need his brain…"

" Absolutely right!" Yuan shouted, " By the way, how is the young lord? Is he alright?"

" He has a fight with some bandits. Lucky for me, I found him with the help of his friend…"

" You have met him?"

" Well… She's beautiful, gentle, and looks smart… She has a beautiful voice too… However, she's rather weird. She said that she know me… but I don't remember her…"

" She…? I think it's a boy… Whatever, but she looks kind a familiar right?"

Dun nodded, " Maybe… I don't really remember…"

" But you are blushing… Don't say that she's your type too…" Yuan poked Dun.

" NO!" Dun shouted, " She belong to the young lord, I don't want to ruin his happiness…"

Yuan laughed, " But your description is rather different from what I know. The one that I know is a male. He has a great dance ability, and I have to admit he's kind a beautiful… or cute…"

" Male with dance ability… it remind me of Zhang He…" Dun laughed.

" I'm glad you remember me, Mr. Dun!" Zhang He appeared from the window.

" WOAAAAA!" Yuan and Dun shouted together.

" It's not good to talk about people behind their back…" Zhang He entered the room, " Let me join your talk. It seems interesting…"

" So you are eavesdropping at us, huh?" Dun asked.

" Oh, don't be so angry. I just miss you, Dun, you barely visit me again lately…" Zhang He explained as he dance around the table.

" So you have a secret relationship with Zhang He?" Yuan stared at Dun.

" Fool… Please don't be fooled by him. I met him to discuss about the war with Wu that we will have soon…"

" Oh, you are too shy, Dun…" Zhang He hugged Dun.

Suddenly, all of them heard some knocks from the window. They saw a young man entered the room from the window.

" Young Lord? What are you doing this late?" Yuan asked.

" Why do people like to enter my room from the window tonight…" Dun shook his head.

" Have you ever kissed someone?" Cao Pi moved closer to Xiahou Dun.

" WHAT?" Xiahou Dun blushed, " Why do you ask me those kind of question?"

" Well… Actually I have met someone on the village… That one is really interesting person, I can't get him out of my mind… And… I accidently kiss that one today… and it's feel wonderful…"

" And… you want to say to me that you was in love… with that person?" Dun asked.

" I don't know… but meeting that person make me happy… I found myself in great happiness whenever I went with that person…"

" But you already married Lady Zhen Ji… Why do you ask me this kind of question? You must already felt that feeling when you married Lady Zhen, right?"

" No… it's different… I have to admit that Lady Zhen is very beautiful, but… somehow, this feeling of mine is different… This happiness and warmth inside my heart… I don't know what is it…"

Xiahou Dun took a deep breath, " Well, I think you already have your answer… Just clear your mind and you will find your answer…"

" It's LOVE!" Zhang He danced circled Dun and Pi, " Only true love that have an eternal happiness like that! Love is not only because beautiful face, sometimes it also require chemistry…"

" General Zhang, please don't add any fuel to the fire…" Dun said as he pushed Zhang He aside.

Cao Pi smiled, " By the way, about the little bird… have it recovered yet?"

" Yes, it has. This bird is really noisy, but I never got bored of it…"

" That bird is actually the pet of my friend. I promised him to give it back to him tomorrow, but… I don't think I can meet him again tomorrow…"

" Mmm… I don't think Sima Yi will allow you to go there again tomorrow… And I'm afraid it's hard for me to help you out either… He watched my move since this happened…"

" …" Cao Pi sighed, " You're right…"

" It's not good to block someone's true love path, Dun…" Zhang He approached Cao Pi with his dance step, " If Dun refused to escort you, I will help you!"

" General Zhang!" Cao Pi smiled.

" But it's not that easy, Zhang! Sima Yi will know your absence, young lord!" Yuan said.

" That's why we will go tonight!" Zhang He explained, " You just need to give the bird back to your loved one, right? The guard on the night won't be as tight as in the afternoon, so it's the only change!"

" Great idea, general Zhang!" Cao Pi gave him applause, " Now, let's go!" Zhang He and Cao Pi jumped from the window again.

Dun shook his head, " So it seems that the young lord has became crazy because of his love…"


	9. Chapter 9 : The identity Revealed

**Author's note:**

My holiday has over, so I must attend the college days again. Maybe it would make me upload the next chapter longer than before. Sorry for making you wait, but I will do to best to make the stories. Regard

**Chapter 9 – The identity revealed**

The night was really cold. Everyone in town seemed has been asleep. However, Lu Xun still waited in Cai Wenji house. He waited for the medicine that Cai Wenji grinned. Lu Xun looked at the window, thinking. Xiao Hua maybe hasn't asleep yet, waiting for his return. And about Winter… Why the general called him 'young lord'? Do they really friend…?

" Mr. Swallow?" Cai Wenji called.

" Ah, Ms. Cai Wenji…?" Lu Xun turned his head.

" I have called you for many times…" Cai Wenji gave a little laugh, " Are you tired? Maybe you should stayed here tonight, since it already night?"

Lu Xun shook his head, " Thanks, but… someone on the house may waiting for me, so I have to go home as soon as possible…"

" Oh… Is that your special one?"

" No, it's my…little sister…"

" Oh, the one with the disease… I see…" Cai Wenji paused for a while, " Don't worry, we just have to waited until the medicine cooked… It would be in half or an hour from now."

" Glad to hear that… Oh yeah, Cai Wenji, you seem know Winter… I want to ask you something about him…"

" What is it?"

" The general with him this evening… why did he call Winter 'young lord'? Is Winter a noble…? Wel, he has a servant… He has some money… and the way he speak… the way he fight this evening…"

Cai Wenji smiled, "Perhaps we can call like that… Why do you ask?"

" No, it just… " Lu Xun kept silence for a while, " Why did he lie to me…? He told me that he was a scholar…"

Cai Wenji smiled," Maybe he didn't want to ruin your friendship? If he was a noble, it's hard for him to make a friend with the villagers... If he exposed his status, it would only attract the bandit, the thief, or maybe the assassin…"

" You're right…"

" I told you about this because Winter seems believe in you. It's rare for me to see him smile like that. He seemed really happy when he was with you…" Cai Wenji grinned.

Lu Xun blushed, " What is it? Why did you smile like that?"

Cai Wenji laughed, " It's nothing. You have to know that his father is rather strict with him, so it's hard for him to make any friend. I'm glad that he can find a friend in this village…"

" How do you know about Winter if he hardly made a friend?"

" Well…" Cai Wenji took a few steps, " Actually I was a princess from a noble too… But I chose to leave my house… And helped the people here with my ability…"

" And… why is that?"

" I was kidnapped when I was young… And after that, I understand… the kidnapper took me because he really needed some money to cure his daughter… He was only followed the order from his lord… However the plan failed… Cao Cao's general saved me, and that kidnapper was punished. His daughter died

because of her disease not long after the his death… The general brought me into the castle. Winter's father was glad that I'm saved. And after that he asked me to stay in his place until my father picked me up. That's why I know about Winter."

" Wow… You're amazing…"

" That's nothing…" Cai Wenji blushed." Oh yeah, back to the topic before… Even you have known Winter's true identity… I want you to keep it secret…"

" Of course!" Lu Xun nodded.

" And also… no matter what happened… I want you to be his friend!" Cai Wenji held Lu Xun's hand.

" Oh…" Lu Xun took some step backward, " But why do you ask that…"

" Promise?"

"…"

" Please… I will help you by making your sister's medicine for free! But you have to help Winter…"

"…" Lu Xun nodded.

Cai Wenji smiled, " I'm glad to hear that! Now I have to check on the medicine! After it cooked, you can bring it home. If you excuse me…" Cai Wenji left Lu Xun.

Lu Xun looked at his hand that once held by Cai Wenji, " What do I do…? Winter is a noble… and he knows many general of Wei… It would be danger for me but… I hope he won't know my true identity…"

" Here it is!" Cai Wenji ran into Lu Xun, " Please be careful on your way home!"

" Thanks a lot, Ms. Cai Wenji!" Lu Xun bowed and left Wenji's house.

Lu Xun rode his horse as fast as he can. He didn't care about the cold winter wind that made him froze. Xiao Hua may suffer because of her disease. He reached the house in a very short time, a new record for him. As he reached the house, he quickly tied his horse on the barn and ran to the door. He was very surprised when he saw Winter and a strange guy waiting in front of his house.

" Winter? What are you doing…?" Lu Xun asked as he approach Cao Pi.

Cao Pi handed him a cage with a little bird inside it, " Here… I just want to fulfill my promise to you…"

" MY PET!" Lu Xun received the cage with a happy face. " Thank you very much!"

Cao Pi smiled and hugged Lu Xun, " I'm glad I made it…"

" Winter…?" Lu Xun blushed. " Why you…?"

" It's the only time I can meet you… After this… maybe it will be hard for me to meet you… That's why… I came to your house tonight… sorry…"

" You… have a fever, Winter…" Lu Xun said.

" What?" Zhang He approach Cao Pi, " Oh no, young lord, are you alright? Let's go home now!"

" WAIT!" Lu Xun cut, " We better take him inside the house and let him warm his body. Or else, it will made the condition worse…"

" It's okay, Swallow. I have to go home now, or else someone will notice my absence…." Cao Pi said.

" NO! I WON'T ALLOW THAT!" Lu Xun grabbed and pulled Cao Pi's hand, " I will make some hot tea and some medicine. After you drink it, I will allow you to go home!"

Zhang He grinned. Just in one glance, Zhang He can recognize whose Cao Pi loved, " Okay… I think you should accept his offer… You should consider your condition…"

Cao Pi has no choice. Lu Xun opened the locked door and forced Cao Pi to sat beside the fireplace. Lu Xun glanced at Xiao Hua's room and found out that she was already asleep. Quickly he cooked some tea and the medicine.

Zhang He approached Lu Xun with his beautiful steps, " Please let me cook the tea and the medicine. I am Zhang He, a servant. It's my duty to serve my master…"

" But… I…" Lu Xun said, but his word was cut by Zhang He's finger on his lips.

" Halt, my dear… My master wished to have some word with you..." Zhang He lied.

" He want to have a word with me…? But…"

Zhang He pushed Lu Xun, " He has to go home as soon as possible. You better accept my offer, cute one!" Zhang He gave Lu Xun a wink.

" Okay then… " Lu Xun came to Cao Pi. Lu Xun put a thick blanket on Cao Pi's shoulder.

" You don't need to do all of this, Swallow…" Cao Pi said.

" Well, your servant said that you want to chat with me. What is it?"

" Really?" Cao Pi just realized Zhang He's strategy," Well... just came closer…"

Lu Xun came closer to Cao Pi." It's your blade… sorry for borrowing something so precious to you…"

Lu Xun smiled. His golden eyes seemed glowing because of the reflection of the fireplace, " Oh my, I forget about it, thanks a lot… "

" And…"

" What is it?" Lu Xun stared at Cao Pi as he moved his face closer.

Cao Pi pulled Lu Xun's chin and kissed him on the lip. Lu Xun was really surprised. He felt his body freeze. Neither of them moved for a moment. Cao Pi pushed Lu Xun to the floor and kissed him more aggressive. Lu Xun tried to pulled away, but Cao Pi's arm hold him still.

" Winter…STOP!" Lu Xun pushed Cao Pi with all of his might. " Your fever made you act weird…"

" …" Cao Pi left Lu Xun and went back to his seat, " Sorry for losing my control… I think I fall for you… After your first kiss this afternoon… I feel something different inside me… Hey, maybe you're right… it's just my fever who made me acted weird…"

They kept silenced for a long time. Neither moved from their seat until they heard a knock from the door.

" A visitor…? This late…?" Lu Xun stood and tried to peek outside. He saw a man with messy white hair and a set of bell on the waist. He quickly realized that the man who standing in front of the door was his own general, Gan Ning. Quickly he opened the door and let the general came inside.

" Gan Ning! Love to see you here!" Lu Xun jumped and hugged Gan Ning.

" Calm down, Boy!" Gan Ning laughed, " It really cold here… Can I have something to warm me up?"

" Sure!" Lu Xun nodded.

Zhang He just finished his cooking and brought them to the room. " Tea is ready!"

" Such lovely fragrance!" Gan Ning entered the room following the scent of the tea. " Hey… you look familiar…." Gan Ning said as he saw Zhang He.

" I feel like I know you too…" Zhang He said as he examined Gan Ning. " AH! Those bell… and those messy hair…" Zhang He took his blade, " You are General Gan Ning from Wu, right? What are you doing here in the land of Wei?"

" AH! Those lotus symbols and that strange costume… You are General Zhang He!" Gan Ning covered Lu Xun, " What are you doing on our young strategist's house?"

" Young strategist…?" Cao Pi's eyes grew widen.

Zhang He covered Cao Pi," Ah, I see your strategy now. You try to lure our young lord… and then you will crush us when we are not ready… very nice…"

" NO!" Lu Xun shouted, " I never know that Winter is… the young lord… so you are Cao Pi..?"

" You tricked me…?" Cao Pi was angry. " How dare you!"

" GYAAAA!" Suddenly all of them heard a loud scream.

" Oh no, I forget to lock the door!" Lu Xun said as he ran toward Xiao Hua.


	10. Chapter 10 : Friendship and Betrayal

**Chapter 10 – Friendship and Betrayal**

As Lu Xun heard Xiao Hua's scream, he rushed into Xiao Hua's room. He was relieved as he saw Xiao Hua was okay. Xiao Hua pointed outside the window. The night sky has turned into the color of fire because a gang of bandits burned the horse's barn. The bandits looked familiar, the one who always asked for the debt. Lu Xun asked Xiao Hua to hide in her room and to never leave her room until the condition save. Then, he went back to the living room just to take his twin swords and hide them inside his clothes.

" What happened, kid?" Gan Ning asked.

" Just a little business with the debt collector…" Lu Xun answered as he passed Gan Ning.

" Really? Then why did you take your swords?"

" No time to explain. I want you to keep Xiao Hua save in her room. Please, Gan Ning…" Lu Xun left Gan Ning without explaining any further.

Lu Xun left the house and went to the gang of big guys who burned his barn, " What are you doing to my barn on the middle of the night like this?"

" You haven't pay the debt for a long time, boy, so that we decide to take your horse and left some reminiscence here…" The gang leader answered as he laughed.

Lu Xun kept silence for a while.

The Gang Leader approach Lu Xun and put his hand on Lu Xun's shoulder, " However… the debt that you have to pay is still much… "

" What do you want?" Lu Xun said as he saw the big guy beside him.

" Your payment, of course… You better pay the debt now, or else we will burn your house…"

Lu Xun looked down, " I don't have the money… Please spare the time… I will pay for them as soon as possible…"

" What? You don't have the money, huh?" The bandit's leader put his hand on Lu Xun's chin, " Then, why don't you pay us… with your body?" The bandit licked Lu Xun's cheek.

" Hand off!" Cao Pi pulled Lu Xun from the bandit. " Here, let me pay the his debt…" Cao Pi gave the leader a pocket. The bandit opened the pocket and saw a bunch of gold inside it.

" Winter… I mean, Lord Cao Pi…" Lu Xun said.

" It just a payment for your help this afternoon. I don't want to have any business with you anymore…" Cao Pi left Lu Xun, but the bandit grabbed his shoulder.

" From your money and your clothes… You must be a noble, right? I bet if we kidnap him, we can ask for a lot of money!" The bandit said. All his subordinates agreed with him and yelled at him.

" YES, he's a noble," Zhang He scratched the bandit's face with his claw, " That's why I'm protecting him…"

The bandit tried to punch Zhang He, but Zhang He blocked the attack with his claws." HEAR THAT, BOYS? Catch the boy, and we will get the money!" The bandit shouted to the subordinates. Zhang He showed him some of his fighting skill and the bandit tried to fight him.

The bandit's subordinate surrounded Lu Xun and Cao Pi with hungry looks on their face. Lu Xun pulled out his twin swords, " Sorry for pulling you into this trouble… Because of me, you become their target now. Please, listen to me. I will catch their attention so that you can run away into the house. The bandit around the house is only a few, I bet you can beat them, just like what you did this afternoon…" Lu Xun handed one of his swords to Cao Pi

" Is this also part your strategy to deceive me?" Cao Pi said as he pointed his sword to Lu Xun.

" No! I don't want to do anything bad to you! I have explained before right? I came here to protect Xiao Hua. And I don't know your true identity too, so… How could I plan something bad to you?"

" …" Cao Pi didn't answer. He didn't realize that a bad guy tried to attack him from behind. Lu Xun grabbed his sword and took the damage with his sword. " Hurry, it's too dangerous here!"

" Hey, your swords look familiar…" The bandit said, " AH! Both of you are the one who beaten my brother! Because of you, the guard caught my brother! You must be responsible for his caught!"

Cao Pi jumped into the bandit's shoulder and kicked his head badly, " Yes, we are! How smart of you to recognize us that fast!"

" Winter, watch your back!" Lu Xun jumped and gave a slash into the bandit who attacked Cao Pi. Quickly he grabbed Cao Pi's hand and pulled him. " You have to hide now! Wei needs you!"

" But if Wei lost me, your nation will win the battle, right? It's your goal as Wu's strategist, right?"

" I told you, I don't have anything to do with my nation right now! I just came here to save Xiao Hua, whose father has been killed because of me. Why won't you believe me?" Lu Xun yelled at Cao Pi as he released Cao Pi's hand in front of the door of his house. " It's up to you to believe me or not. But…I will protect you, because in my eyes, you're still Winter, my friend who help me a lot… and the only one that I love…"

" Swallow…"

Suddenly a bandit jumped from the roof to attack them. " TAKE MY BROTHER'S REVENGE!"

Cao Pi was really surprised and unprepared for the attack. His body froze. Lu Xun ran toward him and pushed him down. He took the damage with his shoulder. Blood started to flow from his body. The white snow turned into crimson ground. " No… Swallow…"


	11. Chapter 11 : Love and Truth

**Chapter 11 – Love and Truth**

The bandit's knife stabbed into Lu Xun's shoulder. Lu Xun lost his balanced and fell into Cao Pi. Cao Pi held Cao Pi's body with both of his arms, " Swallow… Why you…"

The bandit used the opportunity as Cao Pi focus on Lu Xun's condition. He took his dagger from his clothes and wielded his dagger into Cao Pi. Suddenly, a strong figure with long white hair appeared in front of him and beat the bandit with his blade.

" Here he goes again… causing me so much trouble, as always…" Gan Ning said as he beat another bandit.

General Zhang He ran into Cao Pi and helped him as well, " Sorry to leave your side for a while, young lord! The bandits' fighting ability are not very good, but their number are endless… It seems that their camp was near this place, so that they can send the reinforcement easily!"

" So you admitted that you are growing older, huh?" Gan Ning teased Zhang He.

" Of course no! Age can't beat my beauty!" Zhang He jumped and beat the bandit behind Cao Pi beautifully.

" Then bring it!" Gan Ning smirked as he brought Lu Xun's body into the house. Xiao Hua was really surprised when she saw Lu Xun's body was covered by blood. Gan Ning put Lu Xun's body on the bed.

" Gan Ning… please help General Zhang He..."

" Lu Xun…" Gan Ning stared at Lu Xun, " Master Lu Meng will get angry to me if he found out your condition… Let's get home now, from the back door…"

Lu Xun smiled, "Please… help Zhang He… I already have a strategy to win this fight… but I need your help…"

" Egoist as always… Well, I guess I have no choice…" Gan Ning nodded.

" Why are Wu's people like you protect me…?" Cao Pi asked.

" What are you talking about? Lu Xun has sacrifice himself to protect you…" Gan Ning pulled Cao Pi's collar.

" Calm down Gan Ning… Let me talk to him…" Lu Xun stared at Cao Pi as he hold his wound, "We are only generals who serve our lord. The lord of Wu haven't forbid us to protect Wei's people, so why do we have to kill you?" Lu Xun smiled at Cao Pi, " And as I said before… I don't see you as my enemy. You are my precious friend and I don't want to lose you… Winter…"

" Swallow…" Cao Pi took Lu Xun's hand, " I'm sorry…"

Lu Xun smiled as he put his hand on Cao Pi's face.

Gan Ning turned his body and walked into the door, " I think I have to help that Lotus Dancer now. Hey, Wei's boy, if Lu Xun die because of you, I will kill you!"

" You have my word…" Cao Pi nodded. Gan Ning left both of them and entered the battlefield again.

Xiao Hua sat beside Cao Pi, " Big brother… Please let me help you, too…"

" Xiao Hua, I need a bucket hot water and a bunch of clothes that has been soaked in the boiling water. After that, just leave them in front of the room and never look inside, okay?" Cao Pi said. He thought it would be better for Xiao Hua to not see Lu Xun's condition.

Xiao Hua nodded and she left into the kitchen.

" Winter … Can I ask you a favor? " Lu Xun said.

" What is it?"

Lu Xun stood and looked outside the window, " The bandits are too many, and our generals begin to feel tired to handle them… We have to use strategy to beat them" Lu Xun grabbed Cao Pi's hands, " You said before that you have a friend on the palace that can speak to the animal right? Write a letter to send his troops here to help us. Then let my swallow pet sends him the letter…"

" Can this bird really reach the palace? "

" This swallow is smart. I will explain the strategy to her as you wrote the letter." Lu Xun said as he opened the cage and let the swallow out.

Cao Pi nodded and did what Lu Xun asked. He tied the letter on the swallow's leg and let it flew through the window.

" Mmm… Swallow… About your wound…" As Cao Pi turned his head, he was surprised. Lu Xun was crouched on the floor.

Cao Pi ran to Lu Xun," Swallow!"

" I'm okay… Maybe I'm just feeling… a little dizzy… "

" You're lying… Your face is very pale. Your body trembled, and your body temperature… It's hot… And your wound…" Cao Pi tore apart Lu Xun's clothes and realized that his skin around his wound has turned into blue. " How could it be…? Your skin turned into blue…"

" I see… so the knife seems contained some poison… You have to pull the knife fast, or else the poison will spread into my whole body… " Lu Xun explained with a very low voice." After you pulled the knife, you have to wash the wound and give them the miracle medicine I gave you before. The medicine is in the blue bottle with the star symbol on its cover… The medicine can at least neutralized the poison…"

" So the first thing I have to do is to pull this knife from your body… "

" And I think… you better tie my hands into the bed post. I don't think I can control myself because of the pain it cause…"

" But… will this really be okay…? The procedure seems rather scary for me, because… it will make you suffer…"

Lu Xun smiled, " It's okay, because I believe in you… "

" If you ask for… I will do it… I'm really sorry, Swallow…" Cao Pi tied both of Lu Xun's hands on the bed's post with his belt, one on the left, and one on the right.

Lu Xun closed his eyes as Cao Pi put his hand on the knife. He hissed when the blades leave his wound. The pain was hurt more than he expected. Blood began to pour more than before. Cao Pi stopped the bleeding with his clothes, then he washed Lu Xun's wound with white clothes that has been soaked in warm water. After washing them, he scrubbed Lu Xun's wound with the miracle medicine. Lu Xun cried out when the medicine touched his wound. Tears began to roll on his face. He bit his lips hard until it started to bleed.

" No! Swallow!"

" It's painful, Winter… It really is painful… " Lu Xun sobbed.

Cao Pi hugged Lu Xun " I'm sorry, Swallow… Because of me, you have to bear this pain… It's only a bit more… please bear with it a little longer… I don't want you to die…"

As Lu Xun began to calm, Cao Pi continued his work by wrapping the wound with the white clothes that has been sterilized by the boiling water. There is no word between the two of them until Cao Pi finished his work.

" It's finished…" Cao Pi stared at Lu Xun as he released Lu Xun's hands. Cao Pi wiped Lu Xun's sweat and tears from the face. " I'm really sorry to what happened to you… If only I believed in you from the beginning… And also… I should tell you the truth from the start… I'm really sorry…"

Lu Xun smiled at Cao Pi. He didn't have any more energy to speak. He pulled Cao Pi's hand and kissed it.

Cao Pi cupped Lu Xun's face with his hand and kissed him. " Actually, I really want to make you mine… I really love you… Swallow, I mean… Lu Xun…"

Lu Xun glad that Cao Pi called him by his own name. He hugged him more tightly.

Suddenly they heard the noise from the outside. They could hear the Horse's step voice from the outside. It looked like the reinforcement has arrived. Cao Pi was glad as he saw Xiahou Dun was riding his horse with a lot of troops behind him. The troops caught all the bandits, among with the bandit's leader who was hiding on the forest. The swallow really did its work well.

" Your strategy really works! You really are a brilliant strategist!" As Cao Pi turned his head, he just realized that Lu Xun has closed his eyes. " No… LU XUN! WAKE UP! LU XUUUN!"


	12. Chapter 12 : Final Wish

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Sorry for taking so long to write the story. My college's work was endless, and I have some health problem, too. Please enjoy the stories. Actually I just realize that I receive a message from an unknown, and I don't know how to reply him/her. I'm really sorry for not replying^^:, but thanks to the comment. It really helped me, but maybe I will change a little part of the story later, if I have some spare time. Well, 7 hours before the mid exam but I'm still writing the story… :P

**Chapter 12: Final Wish**

After the day he saved Cao Pi, Lu Xun days became like a nightmare. It felt so painful and hot around his body. He can't remember how many times he woken up because of the pain. Thanks to Cai Wenji's treatment, he could sleep because of the sleeping pills. Cai Wenji has tried to cure him by medicine, but she can only hope for the best for the effects. She became tired because she has to take care of Lu Xun for Cao Pi's last wish. Cao Pi really put his hope in her hands. After took care of Lu Xun for a week, finally she can get some rest.

That night, Cai Wenji forgot to close the window, so that the moonlight can enter Lu Xun's room through the window. Lu Xun was woken up by a warm hand touched his face. He opened his eyes. He saw a man with big figure sat beside him. He couldn't recognize the one who sat beside him because of the shadow.

" Who are you…?" Lu Xun asked. He wanted to get closer, but he couldn't move.

" I'm so glad that I can speak to you now." the man said.

" That voice … Xiao Hua's father?"

The man didn't answer, but Lu Xun can see a smile around his lips.

" To meet a dead people means… Am I die, so that you want to take me with you?"

The man laughed, " Fool, unfortunately, I came for another reason. I'm really glad that you keep your promise to take care of my daughter. Now, since she lived with Miss Cai Wenji, she can get a proper medication now. And thanks to Mr. Cao Pi who paid all the bill of her medication…"

" Cao Pi…," Lu Xun said as he closed his eyes.

" Oh yeah, maybe it sound so egoist, but could you grant my final wish?"

" What is it?"

" I want you to deliver a pendant to Cao Pi… He gave me his precious pendant before I went into the war. But… since I can't go home, I want you to deliver this pendant back to him…" the man grabbed Lu Xun's hand and gave him the pendant.

" I really want to help you, but… It's impossible for me to meet him. He's the prince of Wei, and… I was the strategist of his enemy… And… to make it worse, our nation will fight each other soon…"

" Well…" The man walked a few steps, " My wife is actually a noble of Wu… and as you know, I was a knight of Wei. We faced many problems in our marriage life, but we can handle all of them because of our love…"

" But the case is different… We will have to face each other in the battlefield soon…"

" I bet you can solve the problem. You have to believe in him…"

" But… how?"

The man smiled, " I believe in you… I watched you all the time, and I believe you can solve this problem. Please… grant my final wish…" The man faded and vanished into the air.

As the figure vanished, Lu Xun could move his body again. He sat up and looked the pendant on his hand. The pendant was quiet big. It has an oval jade with a golden swallow figure. Lu Xun remembered the swallow, which helped him a lot. He just realized, that the swallow was the avatar of Xiao Hua's father spirit. No wonder the swallow was really smart and knew about the map of Wu and Wei. He thought about Xiao Hua's father's wish. The spirit has helped him a lot, so he has to fulfill his last wish.

Suddenly, he heard music from the room next to his. He stood up and walked into the source of the music. When he arrived at the room, he could see Cai Wenji was playing with his harp, while Gan Ning was dancing, and Xiao Hua was laughing at Gan Ning's performance.

Cai Wenji stopped playing her harp, " Your movements were wrong!"

" As I told before, I can't dance!" Gan Ning shouted.

" But I really need someone to dance on my performance to Cao Pi's birthday tomorrow! The dancer was sick, but I do have to perform or else I would shame my family!" Cai Wenji explained.

" And that's make the condition worse. The Wei people will recognize me as the general who beat their general on the last war. They will capture me, you know! Why not hiring the other person? Like the merchant on the shop in front of this shop…?"

" There's no time! And the merchant has a performance also tomorrow! You can put some make up in your face. I bet they wouldn't b able to recognize you!" Cai Wenji put her harp and stood up. She asked Gan Ning to watch her as she danced.

" Sister Wenji, your dances were great!" Xiao Hua said, " But I don't think that dance will suit Mr. Gan Ning. Mr. Gan Ning is very muscular, while the dance was elegant and beautiful. Maybe it would be wise if you choose another person who was slim…"

" But who…?" Cai Wenji stared Xiao Hua. Three of them have no clue.

Lu Xun thought for a while. It's a good way to enter the palace and give the pendant back to Cao Pi. Lu Xun approached them, " May I try that…?"

Three of them stared at Lu Xun. " Lu Xun…? You awake?" Gan Ning ran and hugged him as tight as he can.

" Gan Ning… It's hurt…." Lu Xun said.

Cai Wenji hit Gan Ning head with her fan, " Let him go!" Cai Wenji checked at Lu Xun's wound and smiled, " I'm glad you're finally awake. How is your wound? Is it still hurt?"

" I feel so much better now. And about your dance back than… I think I can help you. I have done that dance before, when I was a child." Lu Xun said with a smile.

" But you're just woken up. I don't think you have enough strength to dance…" Wenji said.

Gan Ning put his arm on Lu Xun's shoulder, " You better save your strength to go back to Wu. We have postponed our journey for a week because of your wound. Since it has recovered, we have to go home as soon as possible to make the strategy for our war…"

" Gan Ning… I'm so sorry, but please grant me my last wish. Please let me stay here… until I helped Ms. Cai Wenji, at least… as my gratitude for helping me save Xiao Hua…"

" Why helping her? Don't put yourself in danger anymore. You will perform at your enemy's palace, where there would be many generals who came into the party. Are you out of your mind?" Gan Ning said.

" I also have worked really hard to build my family's honor again. I knew how Ms. Cai Wenji felt now because of her responsibility…"

" I knew that feeling, too. But I have a responsibility to protect you, too…" Gan Ning said.

" I can help Lu Xun then, " Cai Wenji smiled, " All we have to do is to dress up him, and put some make up so no one will recognize him!"

" Is it really that easy?" Gan Ning asked.

" Leave it to me!" Cai Wenji smiled widely. " But Lu Xun, I think your condition is not really well enough. I will cut the music, so the dance wouldn't be too long."

Lu Xun nodded, " I will do my best!"

" Then, you have to take a rest now. Tomorrow is a big day, you have to save your energy!" Cai Wenji said.

" I will make some dinner and some herbal soup for Big Brother!" Xiao Hua said.

" Thank you, Xiao Hua. You looked much healthy now!" Lu XUn padded Xiao Hua's head.

" I will help her, too!" Gan Ning said as he followed Xiao Hua into the kitchen.

Cai Wenji pulled Gan Ning," No, I won't let you enter the kitchen again. Last time you helped me cook, you make the kitchen and the cooking whole mess. "

Lu Xun laughed as he heard that, " He always like that …"


End file.
